Electrical outlet boxes that house power and/or data receptacles are well-known in the industry. Such boxes can stand alone or be recessed within any of a wall, the floor or the ceiling of a room. Many electrical boxes include a weatherproof cover or enclosure to prevent dust, water and other materials from entering the electrical receptacle. Additionally, some electrical boxes that house both high voltage receptacles, such as electrical power receptacles, and low power receptacles, such as telephone/data receptacles, have a divider between the high and low voltage devices to minimize potential interference between the corresponding wiring. An example of one known device of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,218,613 to Justiniano et al. (the '613 Patent). The electrical box disclosed in the '613 Patent includes a “deflectable,” i.e., flexible, isolation barrier installed into a standard double-gang device box to divide the available wiring space within the box into two separate compartments, one for communications conductors and the other for power conductors. The isolation barrier is either a stand alone structure that attaches to the inside surface of a wall plate or it is integral with a separate chamber inserted into the box. As the isolation barrier is inserted into the box, its free end contacts the rear wall of the box and flexes while remaining in contact with the rear wall of the box, thus permitting the barrier to be used in device boxes having different depths.
Another known electrical box in which the interior of the box is divided into separate high and low voltage compartments is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,132 to Lowe et al. (the '132 Patent). The '132 Patent discloses an outlet box that incorporates two separate boxes for accommodating both line and signal voltage wiring. A flush box, which substantially resembles a typical single-gang receptacle box, includes a flange cover that attaches the flush box to a recessed box. When the flush box and recessed box are connected together, a portion of the flush box resides within the recessed box and a second portion remains outside the recessed box. An L-shaped movable barrier separates the space within the recessed box into a line voltage chamber and a signal voltage chamber. The box disclosed in the '132 Patent is complicated to manufacture and occupies significantly more space than a single standard electrical box.
Various other electrical boxes are known in which the wiring for both line and signal voltage devices is terminated. These boxes typically include a planar divider that separates the interior of a single or double-gang electrical box into two chambers having the same volume. For example, FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an electrical wall box similar to the box disclosed in prior patent application Ser. No. 11/826,036, assigned to the same assignee as the present application, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all that is taught. More particularly, in the wall box disclosed in that application, planar divider 550 divides box 500 into two chambers of equal volume. Further, divider 550 intersects knockout 525. That is, because the divider intersects the entire interior volume of the box, including the knockout 550 located in the back wall of the box, the entire area of the opening corresponding to knockout 525 is not available for wiring that enters either chamber.
In FIG. 6 it is shown that planar divider 550 slides between guides 650 and divides the interior volume of the box in the same plane, from the top of the box at 610 to the floor of the box 620. In accordance with the prior box shown in FIG. 6, flanges 627, 628 extend outward from the frame of the box and provide mounting holes 629 to which a receptacle 575 (FIG. 5) is attached.
It is often necessary, however, due to various code requirements or physical limitations of the site at which the box is to be installed, to provide an electrical box that separates the interior space into separate chambers having different specific volumes, for example, a larger volume for high voltage devices and a smaller volume for low-voltage devices. It is often also necessary that the box being separated into high and low voltage chambers be a single-gang electrical box. There exists, therefore, a need for an improved single-gang electrical outlet box that can accommodate both high and low voltage components, each having its own specific chamber having a different respective volume.